Moods alter audiovisual integration
Miho Kitamura, Katsumi Watanabe, Norimichi Kitagawa

Date: 2012-06-20 02:30 PM – 04:00 PM
Last modified: 2012-04-27

Abstract


Multisensory integration depends on the temporal proximity of events in different modalities. Recent studies have shown that multisensory temporal binding may be related to individual traits (Stevenson, et al., 2012; Foss-Feig et al., 2010). Here we show that positive moods in observers enhance the temporal binding of audiovisual multisensory integration. Twenty-five healthy participants observed two identical visual disks moving toward each other, coinciding, and moving away. The two disks were perceived as either streaming through or bouncing off each other (stream/bounce display), and a belief sound around the visual coincidence facilitated bouncing perception (Sekuler et al., 1997; Watanabe & Shimojo, 2001). We asked the participants to report whether the two disks appeared to stream through or bounce off while listening to either exhilarating music of their own choice or a neutral pink noise. The results showed that the participants listening to exhilarating music reported bouncing percept more frequently. The proportion of bouncing percepts was correlated with the valence rating rather than the arousal rating during the experiment. These results suggest that positive moods enhance the temporal binding process in audiovisual integration.

References


Stevenson, R.A., Zemtsov, R.K., & Wallace, M.T.(2012). Individual differences in the multisensory temporal binding window predict susceptibility to audiovisual illusions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, [Epub ahead of print].

Foss-Feig, J.H., Kwakye, L.D, Cascio, C.J., Burnette, C.P., Kadivar, H., Stone, W.L., & Wallace, M.T. (2010). An extended multisensory temporal binding window in autism spectrum disorders.Experimental Brain Research, 203, 381-389.

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Watanabe, K., & Shimojo, S. (2001). Postcoincidence trajectory duration affects motion event perception.
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